Beware of proof by anecdote - individual incidents have no meaning in isolation. As a white guy, I got pulled over and hassled because they didn't like the look of adolescent hair and VW Bus. Nothing physical, just pulled over and embarrassed for a tail light that was supposedly out but was not.

I cut my hair and bought a nicer car, and haven't been pulled over in forty years of not-always-legal driving since.

Being polite and respectful is not a guarantee.

If you look at the circles in a Venn diagram of people who are least sympathetic to Ms. Griner, have a history of racial antipathy, dislike Joe Biden, and are fans of Mr. Putin there is a lot of overlap.

If Trump were president, she'd be home now because Putin wants to stay in good with the American right. Since a Democrat is president, she got a long sentence because, well, Putin wants to stay in good with the American right. Jailing tattoed Black lesbians who don't kneel for the anthem is what conservatives wish they could do here.